


May Love Be Your Keeper

by Spacecadet72



Category: The Sound of Music - Rodgers/Hammerstein/Lindsay & Crouse
Genre: F/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-08-07 07:26:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16403936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spacecadet72/pseuds/Spacecadet72
Summary: There is a new addition to the Von Trapp Family.





	May Love Be Your Keeper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ijemanja](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ijemanja/gifts).



> This was so great to write, so thank you for the prompt. I agree that they have ridiculous chemistry and I loved writing more of their interactions. 
> 
> I did research birth and pregnancy in the 1940s, but a lot of it was horrifying and this is a fluffy fic, so I'm just gonna handwave things like historical and scientific accuracy. (Somewhat like The Sound of Music before me. :D) 
> 
> Title is from the song La La Lu from Lady and the Tramp
> 
> Thank you to htbthomas for the beta!
> 
> Enjoy!

They have been married for a year and a half when Maria first suspects. It’s been too long since her last period, and there are other symptoms that all point to one conclusion.

She had wondered if she should wait to tell him, wait until she is sure, but oh, this is so exciting she knows she can’t keep it to herself. Besides that, this is a journey they will travel together and she can’t bear to keep him out of any part of it.

They are alone in their bedroom when she tells him. She is brushing her hair and watching him in the vanity mirror as he gets ready.

He is partially dressed and leaning down to pull an undershirt out of the dresser after putting his trousers on when it just flies out of her mouth. He has been talking about his plans for that weekend, wanting to take the children to the local Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

“I think I might be pregnant,” she says with little fanfare or preparation.

He freezes for a moment, before looking up at her, his mouth slack in surprise. She thinks she falls in love with him just a little more then, half doubled over, no shirt on, his expression dumbstruck.

“Are you…are you serious?” he asks once he seems to have gained some of his bearing back.

She nods, her smile wide. “I still have to have it confirmed by the doctor, but all the signs point to a child.”

He surges towards and pulls her close as he peppers kisses first in her hair and then all over her face. She laughs through the onslaught. When he reaches her mouth, she sighs into his and her arms go around his shoulders as the kiss deepens.

He pulls away after several moments and kneels at her feet, his head level with her still flat stomach.

He reaches for her slowly, his expression reverent. He lays one hand on her stomach and she can’t help but lay one of hers on top of his. He leans forward to kiss it before looking up at her.

“Oh, Maria,” he says, and it comes out in a ragged, awed whisper.

She leans down to kiss him, and the angle is awkward, but she loves everything about this moment, real and entirely theirs.

* * *

 

The doctor confirms it a few days later, and while they will wait to tell others, they both know that there will be no waiting to tell the children.

At dinner that night, the only warning Maria gets from Georg is a mischievous smile and a quick wink before he schools his expression into something more bland and serious. He looks down at the table, and running his fingers over the top says, “We’ll need a bigger table.”

There are confused noises and looks from both sides of the table, and it takes everything Maria has to not burst out laughing. She shoots Georg what she hopes is, but knows isn’t, a properly scolding look before returning her attention to her food.

“Why do we need a bigger table, Father?” Liesl asks for everyone.

“Well,” Georg says, his voice light and airy, “it won’t be enough for all ten of us.”

“Ten?” Friedrich asks, his brow furrowed and he is echoed by the rest of the children.

Liesl gasps and looks to Maria, who nods discreetly before smiling into her dinner again.

“But, there are only nine of us,” Brigitta says, shaking her head.

“Not for much longer, Brigitta,” Georg says, his smile, full blown.

“Is Uncle Max coming to stay?” Kurt asks.

Georg shakes his head. “No, Uncle Max is not coming to stay. But someone is.”

Liesl looks like she will burst with excitement, but stays silent and waits for the end of Georg’s game.

After no other guesses come forward, Georg looks at Maria. “Darling? Would you like to do the honors?”

Maria nods, her smile wide and matching his. “What your father is trying to say is that we’re having a baby.”

“A baby!” There are shouts from both sides of the table, and soon all the children are up and clamoring around Maria.

“Don’t crowd your mother,” Georg says, with fake sternness in his voice.

Maria shakes her head at him, her smile fond. “They won’t break me, dear. They’re just excited.”

Georg wipes his mouth with his napkin and rises from his seat, moving to join the rest of his family. “It is very exciting news,” he says, his voice soft as he leans down to quickly kiss Maria.

Both Marta and Gretl, who were either too young to remember or have never experienced the birth of a sibling, look ready to burst, both of them focused on Maria and her stomach.

Maria catches Georg’s eyes, and he winks at her again, laughter in his expression. Maria looks around at her family and once again thanks God for all she has been given.

* * *

 

“Have you decided on a name for the baby, Mother?” Liesl asks, one night at dinner.

Maria shakes her head, smiling at Georg before turning her attention to Liesl. They have discussed names, but nothing serious. She has only recently begun to show and she has already needed to make new dresses to adjust to her new shape.

“No, Liesl, we haven’t picked a name yet.”

“Will the baby be a boy or a girl?” Gretl asks, practically bouncing in her seat.

“We won’t know until the baby arrives, Gretl,” Georg says gently.

“I think it will be a girl,” Gretl says, her smile wide and knowing.

“How do you know?” Kurt asks, and Gretl’s smile falls at his sharp tone.

“It’s perfectly alright to guess, Kurt,” Maria chides gently.

“I hope it’s a boy,” Kurt says with a smile, “there are too many girls already.”

The family laughs at that, and soon everyone is throwing out their guess for the baby’s gender.

“I think it will be a boy too!”

“No, a girl!”

“Maybe it’s twins!”

Maria shares an alarmed look with Georg at that statement.

“I hope not,” Maria says, her hand going to her hair. “One baby at a time is quite enough.”

“We won’t know the gender for a while, why don’t we talk about names?” Louisa asks as the guesses continued being shouted.

That only increases the chaos.

“I like the name Ingrid for a girl,” Liesl says, to Louisa.

“Ursula?” Louisa answers, to a shake of her head from Liesl.

“It might be a boy,” Friedrich says after a few more girl name suggestions. “What about Dieter?”

“I like Helmut,” Brigitta says.

“No, it’s going to be a girl,” Gretl says with a stubborn set to her expression.

“Well, then what name do you like?” Kurt asks.

“Astrid is pretty,” Gretl says with a smile.

“I like Karin better,” Marta says softly.

“Should we be writing these down?” Georg asks Maria with a grin.

Maria returns his smile. “They are good suggestions.”

“Alright, we have plenty of time to decide on a name for the baby,” Georg says, the corner of his mouth tugging up into a smile, even as he tries to remain serious.

The children all see through his act and the names continue.

“I like Helga.”

“We can’t name the baby after a governess.”

“Oh.”

“What about Werner?”

Georg shakes his head at Maria, and all she can do is laugh and be grateful for the joy this new baby is already bringing.

* * *

 

Maria shifts for the upteenth time that night. She is about seven months along, and the baby will not stop moving. She remembers waiting for this milestone, and while it was, and is, exciting, right now she just wants it to stop so she can go to sleep.

She shifts again, and feels Georg move against her. She sighs. It’s too late for the baby to keep them both awake.

“Is she moving again?” he asks, his voice soft and sleepy. She smiles. He is convinced it is a girl.

“I’m sorry I woke you,” she says instead of answering. The baby kicks and her hand flies to her stomach. “You should go back to sleep.”

Even sleepy, the look Georg shoots her lets her know that no such thing will be happening. He moves down so that his head is next to her stomach.

“Now,” he says firmly, not looking at Maria, “you really need to go to sleep and stop bothering your mother. Bedtimes are strictly observed in this house.”

Maria stifles a laugh and he looks up at her with a smile.

“We’re very excited to see you, and undoubtedly you are excited to be out in the world, but that won’t be happening tonight.”

The baby kicks again, rather hard, and Maria winces. “I don’t think she liked that very much.”

Georg places a kiss on her stomach. “Maybe a lullaby will work better?”

She winces again at a particularly hard kick. “It’s worth a shot.”

He leans close and begins to sing, his voice soft and low. “Edelweiss, edelweiss…”

It’s a song that has history for both of them, and she thinks it a perfect choice to sing to their child. She finds herself humming along, but not really joining in. She wants to just listen as he sings.

She reaches her hand down and runs her hand through his hair. His eyes flick over to her at the move, but he keeps singing, and there is a smile on his face so she doesn’t stop.

Whether a coincidence or not, the baby settles down. Maria finds herself fighting to keep her eyes open, her fingers still absentmindedly running through his hair as he sings.

She falls asleep like this, and her dreams are filled with stern sea captains and falling in love.

* * *

 

“She’s perfect,” Georg whispers, not wanting to wake the sleeping babe.

Maria leans back against both Georg and the headboard and nods wearily. It had a been a long and hard labor, but looking at her husband holding their daughter, it has been worth it. She reaches a hand up to rub a finger against the baby’s cheek and sighs at how soft her skin is.

“She still needs a name,” she says with a chuckle. They never had come to a decision about a name.

Georg hums out a response, his eyes not leaving the baby’s face as he thinks. “I was rather fond of Astrid.”

“Astrid,” Maria repeats as she looks at the baby to see how it fits. The baby shifts as she says it, getting more comfortable, but it looks like she is comfortable with the name too. Maria smiles. “It suits her. We had discussed Ruth as a middle name, if you still agree?”

Georg nods. “Astrid Ruth Von Trapp,” he says, and it feels right to her.

“Welcome to the family, Astrid,” Maria says, reaching her arms out for her. She was happy to have Georg hold her, as she’s gotten the monopoly on the baby for the past nine months. Now, though, she just wants to hold their daughter.

He slides Astrid into Maria’s arms and she stays asleep throughout the process.

“She’s just so small,” Maria says, still in awe of how little Astrid is. Little and beautiful and perfect. Maria hadn’t been around babies much growing up and there weren’t any at the Abbey, and the other children had long since grown out of infancy.

“Isn't it amazing?” Georg says, and she is suddenly aware that he has had much more experience with this than she.

She starts to feel that insecurity rise within her. That she won’t be enough that she can’t really be responsible for someone so small, can’t really be someone’s mother--

But then she remembers that she is several someones’ mother and has been for quite some time. Just because she gave birth herself to Astrid, doesn’t make the other children any less hers.

Soon, the other children will be introduced to their new sister, and their family will be all together.

“The children will love her,” Maria says with a smile. She can just picture all of them excited for their turn to hold baby Astrid, excited to welcome this new little life into their family.

“It’s like she was always meant to be ours, isn’t it?” he asks, leaning a little closer to both her and Astrid.

Maria knows just what he means and nods. “I once thought seven children was such a shocking number, but eight is even better.”

“And nine or ten could be a good number too,” Georg says with a grin.

Maria remembers the labor and delivery and groans. “Not for a while yet, please.”

He laughs. “Of course, darling,” he says against her hair before placing a kiss there.

Maria leans back against him and exhausted as she is, as painful as getting here was, she wouldn’t trade this moment for anything. Soon the rest of her family will be together and it really will be perfect.


End file.
